Ah, China the glorious nation filled with harmonious and loving citizens

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Originally Posted by Scipio

It is against public interest to skin any animal on the streets in any country, in my opinion.

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Well, I'm glad you qualified. In certain parts of the world it's against public interest to shoo a cow away from the road, let alone eat it.

I think that a lot of it boils down to culture; what may be acceptable in some cultures may not be acceptable in others. Heck, what's not acceptable in NYC is perfectly fine elsewhere - I gleefully participated in a "cow bingo" in Louisiana; this is where they make a grid of 1' by 1' squares in a pen and put a cow in it, then you bet where the cow will... uh... fertilize.

Don't lose sight that whatever meat you eat, someone has to slaughter and dress it, be it cow, sheep, chicken or even dog. It's just the way it is. Some, like my wife, are deeply affected by this. Others, like me - who happened to spend time in a ranch as a kid - not so much.

Perspective is what's needed here. You don't want to judge a whole society based on a single incident, that in and out of itself may or may not be the norm there.

Just curious , what was your first reaction to the chaos in Japan? and what did that reaction turn into over the course of the drama playing out?

I think for most people there was shock, horror , concern, sympathy.

The common mentality here was good let more die . wasn't bad enough!
see this proves the superiority of the Chinese people! pay back for Nanjing !

if you want to say I am being ignorant or racist please do but when you do that make the choice to get to know people on the mainland in the cities and in the countrysides, learn what they think. not just what they tell the tourists

I really am sorry I started this thread , I just wanted to vent a little and show what I and many others consider bad traits and habits.

But on the other hand it is very interesting to see you all stand up and protect the rights of others to be how ever they wish to be that is a great trait.

Shayne,

Both Japanese and Chinese consider themselves superior to each other; this has been going on for centuries if not millenia, so I'm not surprised of the reaction.

My own reaction to this tragedy was akin to yours - assuming yours was like most people.

Please accept my apologies if I came on too strong or was unduly harsh. At no time I meant to imply you were biased, bigoted or a racist, and if anything I said lead you or anyone to believe that, I deeply and sincerely regret it.

For the record, I have never visited China, and I've no real knowledge nor a particular curiosity for it. This is not to single them out, there are several other cultures that do not spark my interest. That notwithstanding, I endeavor to to judge and appreciate each man (or woman) on his own merits, which has lead me to forge relationships, including friendship, with individuals that were worth the effort. Some of them were Chinese, and that gave no bias one way or the other. Feel free to replace the nationality there with any other and I'm pretty confident it'll still hold. :)

If I could start over I'd say you are painting yourself narrow the way you presented the issue. There may well be truth to what you say, I really don't know, but I feel your approach reflected poorly on you.

None of my opinions make you a bad person by any standard, and I never meant to judge you.

If we knew each other, we'd be more tolerant of each others stance.

I bid you peace,